Mooring device



Nov. 6, 1962 H. E. cooK 3,062,169

MOORING DEVICE Filed Oct. 29, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l lll-$11.11

l Dg-22 v /1/ "MZA 37 36 l Y ASS.:

I INVENTOR. HOWARD E. CooK BY MVM @5M Nov. 6, 1962 H. E. cooK 3,062,169

MOORING DEVICE Filed Oct. 29, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

HOWARD E. CooK BY www@ @13% Uit States Howard The present invention relates to `an improved mooring device particularly designed for use with -boats too small to carry a dinghy.

Operators of such boats frequently desire to picnic or camp on shore Where there are no docking facilities and where the cruiser cannot be safely or conveniently moored for very `long by beaching because of tidal changes, rocks, adverse wave conditions, etc. Yet, without a dinghy, heretofore the operator has not been able to conveniently take the only remaining alternative, and namely anchoring the boat off shore. Accordingly, the present invention aims to provide a device whereby such a boat, after being unloaded on the beach, can be pulled out and secured to a 'buoy anchored off shore by an operator standing on the beach, and can be readily retrieved from shore without disturbing the buoy and anchor.

As a further object of the invention aims to provide such a mooring device which is of simple yand economical construction and can be compactly stored.

The invention also aims to provide `a mooring device which is not susceptible to fouling.

Still another object is to provide a buoy which also serves as a reel for the lines used in conjunction with the mooring device.

As a further object the invention aims to provide such a -mooring device by which the moored boat exerts its pull on the buoy independently of any retrieving line.

Other and more particular objects and advantages will, with the foregoing, appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of my device illustrating the manner of using the same.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view with parts broken away of the pulley unit portion of my device.

FIG. 2A is a detail fragmentary elevational view taken as indicated by the line 2A 2A of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 shows the locking device in locked position within the nose of the pulley unit, the locking device being shown in longitudinal vertical section.

FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 3 and illustrates the steps of releasing the locking device.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are transverse vertical sectional views to an enlarged scale taken along the lines 5 5 and 6 6, respectively of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the locking device.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view illustrating my device as a boat is pulled out to the buoy thereof.

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of my device showing the reel function of the buoy; and

FIG. 10 is a detail side elevational view of the swivel unit at the bottom of the buoy.

`Referring to the drawings it is seen that my mooring apparatus includes a buoy 10 having a -bar 11 centrally therethrough which has a pulley unit 12 -at its upper end and carries an anchor line 13 at its lower end. The buoy is formed from any suitable lloatable material such as wood, inflated rubber, cellular plastic, etc., and is preferably annular in shape with a concave rim so as to be adapted to serve as a reel for a retrieving line 14 passing over the wheel 15 of the pulley 12. A swivel tting 16 makes connection between the bar 11 and the anchor line by way of an eye 17 receiving a bight of the line and a U-shackle 18 having its pin 20 passing through a hole 21 in the bar. It is desired that the buoy 10 be fixed against rice rotation relative to the bar 11 and hence, for purposes of example the bar is shown as being fabricated from flat stock and received in a correspondingly shaped center opening through the buoy. An angle 22 is riveted yto the bar at 23 for resting on the buoy and cooperating with the shackle 18 to limit endwise movement of the bar relative to the buoy.

The pulley 12 has a pair of dished cheek plates 24 encasing its grooved wheel 15 and receiving a center axle bolt 25 for the latter. It will be noted that the cheek plates are shaped to collectively provide a forwardly projecting nose 26 at the top and a furcated arm 27 projecting from the rear thereof and straddling the upper end of the bar 11. The two forks 28 of the arm 27 and the straddled portion of the bar are pierced to receive a bolt 3G. Swinging movement of the pulley about the bolt 30 is permitted by way of the fact that the forward edge at the top of the bar is rounded at 31 so that it can be cleared Vby the bridge 32 between the forks 28. However, the ar-m Z7 cannot swing past an alined position over the bar because the bridge 32 is purposely made to engage the back upper corner portion 33 of the bar.

The cheek plates 24 `are shaped .to provide a gusset 34 for the nose 26 and ears 35 36 at the top and bottom of the pulley. One of the cheek plates has its half of the arm 27, gusset 34 and ears 35-36 laterally bored and the other has them tapped to receive screws 37 to complement the axle 25 in holding the cheek plates together.

The retrieving line 14 enters the front of the pulley through an enlarged nostril 38 at the top and a port 40 at the bottom. It is seen that the nostril has a central expanded portion to provide a rearwardly facing annular shoulder 41 and then gradually tapers back to its entry size for a short distance from whence it bevels to -a passage 42. This passage continues into the cavity of the pulley above the groove of its wheel 15 and is large enough to freely receive the line 14.

As seen in FIG. 3, the function of the nose '26 and its nostril 38 is to receive a tubular locking device 43 having a tapered tail for ease of entry into the nostril which, for the same reason, is desirably ared at the mouth. The tapered tail is bored at 44 and counter-bored at 45 for passage of one end of the retrieving line 14 and -to receive a terminal knot 46 for securing the line relative to the locking device. A central longitudinal quarter segment of the tube 43 is cut away for assembly access and for the action of a trigger `47 which is pivotally connected by a pin 48 -to the tube. This -pin is necked to shoulder against one side of the trigger while the other side thereof faces a flat Wall 49. .The trigger 47 is actuated by a pull rod 50 having a pivotal connection 51 therewith at an olfset rear end portion 50a. From the latter the rod extends forwardly through a head chamber 52 and out a reduced mouth surrounded by an annular shoulder 53. At its forward end the pull rod is threaded to receive an eye fitting 54 which has the other end of the retrieving line 14 tied thereto. The pull rod is provided with a collar 55 forwardly of its rear offset portion 50a, and seated within the chamber 52 between this collar and the shoulder 53 is a compression coil spring 56 which is sleeved on the rod. The locking device is completed by an eye 57 which extends laterally from lthe front end portion thereof to receive a boat line 58.

It should be understood that the distance from the trigger 47 to the tapered rear end of the tube 43 is purposely made less than the distance between the nose shoulder 41 and the forward end of the passage 42, and that the distance from the front of `the nose 26 to the shoulder 41 must be at least correspondingly less than the space between the trigger and the eye 57. The purpose is illustrated by FIGS. 3 4. In the -irst of these FIGURES the trigger is in locking position under the influence of the spring 56, and namely pivoted outwardly behind the shoulder 41 so that the locking device cannot be pulled out of the nostril 38 by a pull on the boat line 58. Continuing to FIG. 4, the locking device has been pulled by the rear knotted end of the retrieving line to the back of the nostril 38, and for this reason the taper of the tail of the locking device matches that of the rear end portion of the nostril. The trigger is now spaced far enough behind the shoulder 41 to permit the trigger to be swung downwardly within the contines of the locking device to the retracted position shown by broken lines in FIG. 4. This retraction is accomplished by pulling the rod 5? forwardly while a rearward pull is maintained on the device by the knotted end of the retrieving line. It is now possible to withdraw the device from the nostril by continuing the forward pull on the rod 50 and relinquishing the rearward pull.

As before mentioned, the buoy is circumferentially grooved to also serve as a reel. This function is illustrated in FIG. 9 wherein it can be seen that the retrieving line 14 is wound in doubled relation around the buoy for storage. -In the use of my invention an anchor is set in the conventional manner and its line 13 secured to the eye 17 of the swivel unit 16. The free loop end of the retrieving line 114 is then grasped and the boat driven -toward shore. During the travel to the beach the buoy 10 spins about the swivel unit 116 as the retrieving line is played out. After the boat is unloaded, if not already free the locking unit 43 is released from the pulley nose 26 by rst pulling on the lower run of the retrieving line 14 from shore to pull the trigger 47 back from the shoulder 41 (FIG. 3), and then pulling on the upper run and releasing the lower run (FIG. 4). Continued pulling of the upper run brings the locking unit to shore so that the boats line S8 can be hitched to the eye `57. As shown in FIG. 8, the boat can then be pulled out to the lbuoy by pulling on the lower run of the retrieving line 14. The resulting strain on the buoy causes it to tip, but the pin 30 permits the pulley unit 12 to swing relative to the buoy so that the nose 26 Will stay in alinement with the pulling force applied on shore. In this regard, as before pointed out, the pulley unit cannot swing past an alined position with the bar 11 because of the abutting potential of the corner portion 33 of the bar to the bridge 32 between the forks 28.

Pull on the upper run of the line 14 is continued until the tapered tail of the locking unit enters the nose 26 and the trigger 47 is urged outwardly by the spring 56 to assume the locked position behind the shoulder 41. At

this time the retrieving line becomes `completely free of 7 strain from the boat. Hence, it is seen that the retrieving line can be considerably lighter than the boat line 58 and can, while the boat is moored, be permitted to sink to the bottom. So that it will not be washed out from shore, the shore end of the line 14 is usually tied to a log or tree, or looped over a driven stake 60 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

While the boat is moored to the buoy 10 the swivel unit 16 permits a free swinging of the boat, as induced by tide or wind changes, and a corresponding turning of the buoy. To retrieve the boat it is only necessary to release the locking unit 43 by manipulating the runs of the retrieving line 14 as afore-described and then pull in on the upper run. When it is desired to pull up anchor, a simple procedure is for the operator, after going aboard,

to pull the boat out to the buoy by use of the retrieving line 14. Then; after releasing the boat line 58, the retrieving line can be easily wound on the buoy 10 in doubled relation as shown in FIG. 9 by merely rotating the buoy in the water either before or after pulling up the anchor.

The advantages of the invention, it is thought, will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of the illustrated preferred embodiment. Minor changes will suggest themselves and may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, wherefore it is my intention that no limitations be implied and .that the hereto yannexed claims be given a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language admits.

What I claim is:

1. In ia boat mooring assembly, a buoy, a pulley operatively carried by the buoy, a locking unit, a retrieving line working on said pulley and having its ends connected to said locking unit, .a boat line tting mounted on said locking unit, and means carried by said buoy for receiving said llocking unit in locking relation to the buoy, said locking unit being releasable from said means by manipulation of said retrieving line.

2. In a boat mooring assembly, a buoy, a pulley operatively mounted on the buoy, a retrieving line working on said pulley, a locking unit connected by its ends to the ends of said line and having an outwardly-urged springloaded trigger, a boat line tting mounted on said l0cking unit, and lock receiving means carried by said pulley and having a trigger receiving cavity, said locking unit including means for retracting said trigger from said cavity responsive to manipulation of said retrieving line.

3. In a boat mooring assembly, a buoy, a pulley operatively carried by the buoy, a locking unit, a retrieving line working on said pulley and having its ends connected to said locking unit, means to connect a boat line to said retrieving line .at a location proximate to said locking unit, and means carried by said buoy lfor receiving said locking unit in locking relation :to` the buoy, said locking unit being releasable from `said means by manipulation of said retrieving line.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 632,238 Christensen Seprt. 5, 1899 1,482,268 Schopper Jan. 29, 1924 1,650,281 Knudson Nov. 22, 1927 1,710,697 Gilbert Apr. 30, 1929 1,993,974 vMcVicker Mar. 12, 1935 2,187,361 Palsson Jan. 16, 1940 2,354,441 Diehl July 25, 1944 2,381,394 Beach Aug. 7, 1945 2,562,922 Kist Aug. 7, 1951 2,581,676 Loaney Jan. 8, 1952 2,716,959 yBetts et al Sept. 6, 1955 2,718,016 Henke Sept. 20, 1955 2,814,054 Phillips Nov. 26, 1957 2,902,737 Moran Sept. 8, 1959 2,903,716 Zasada Sept. 15, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 759,092 France Nov. 16, 1933 

